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		</div><p>New Zealand&#8217;s parliament has passed sweeping gun laws that outlaw military-style weapons less than a month after mass shootings at two mosques in the city of Christchurch left 50 people dead and dozens wounded.</p>
<p>A Bill outlawing most automatic and semi-automatic weapons and banning components that modify existing weapons was passed by a vote of 119 to 1 in the House of Representatives after an accelerated process of debate and public submission.</p>
<p>The Bill needs only the approval of New Zealand&#8217;s governor general, a formality, before becoming law on Friday.</p>
<p>Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern spoke emotionally during the Bill&#8217;s final reading of the traumatic injuries suffered by victims of the March 15 attacks, whom she visited in Christchurch Hospital after the shootings.</p>
<p>&#8220;I struggle to recall any single gunshot wounds,&#8221; Ms Ardern said.</p>
<figure id="attachment_129851" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-129851" style="width: 600px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://londonglossy.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/052ECE81-E46B-4A2D-9C76-4029259B0DD2.jpeg"><img class="size-full wp-image-129851" src="https://londonglossy.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/052ECE81-E46B-4A2D-9C76-4029259B0DD2.jpeg" alt="" width="600" height="338" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-129851" class="wp-caption-text">New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern consoling a woman last month after the terror attack in Christchurch.</figcaption></figure>
<p>&#8220;In every case they spoke of multiple injuries, multiple debilitating injuries that deemed it impossible for them to recover in days, let alone weeks. They will carry disabilities for a lifetime, and that&#8217;s before you consider the psychological impact. We are here for them.</p>
<p>&#8220;I could not fathom how weapons that could cause such destruction and large-scale death could be obtained legally in this country.&#8221;</p>
<p>A 28-year-old Australian man, Brenton Tarrant, has been charged over the attacks.</p>
<p>Ms Ardern, who has won international praise for her compassion and leadership since the shootings, was able to win rare bipartisan support for a Bill that makes it illegal to own a military-style semi-automatic rifle.</p>
<p>The only dissenting voice was from the libertarian ACT Party, which has one politician in parliament.</p>
<p>The law includes a buy-back scheme under which owners of outlawed weapons can surrender them to police in return for compensation based on the weapon&#8217;s age and condition.</p>
<p>Anyone who retains such a weapon after the law formally passes on Friday faces a penalty of up to five years in prison.</p>
<p>Some exemptions have been allowed for heirloom weapons held by collectors or for professional pest control.</p>
<figure id="attachment_129852" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-129852" style="width: 600px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://londonglossy.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1F929F26-3588-461C-9D33-FCDFE37CD801.jpeg"><img class="size-full wp-image-129852" src="https://londonglossy.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1F929F26-3588-461C-9D33-FCDFE37CD801.jpeg" alt="" width="600" height="338" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-129852" class="wp-caption-text">Memorials at the scene of the terror attack at one of the mosques in the city of Christchurch last month</figcaption></figure>
<p>Ms Ardern said politicians had a responsibility to act on behalf of victims of the shootings.</p>
<p>&#8220;We are ultimately here because 50 people died and they do not have a voice,&#8221; she said.</p>
<p>&#8220;We in this house are their voice. Today we can use that voice wisely.&#8221;</p>
<p>She added: &#8220;We are here just 26 days after the most devastating terrorist attacks created the darkest of days in New Zealand&#8217;s history.</p>
<p>&#8220;We are here as an almost entirely united parliament. There have been very few occasions when I have seen parliament come together in this way and I cannot imagine circumstances where that is more necessary than it is now.&#8221;</p>
<p>Ms Ardern said there was some opposition from firearms owners, but that the response to the proposed legislation was overwhelmingly positive.</p>
<p>&#8220;My question here is simple,&#8221; she said.</p>
<p>&#8220;You either believe that here in New Zealand these weapons have a place or you do not. If you believe, like us, that they do not, you should be able to believe we can move swiftly.</p>
<p>&#8220;An argument about process is an argument to do nothing.&#8221;</p>
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